In public, Fayyad is telling his people and the rest fo the world how
much he cries abut freedom of expression. Behind the scenes, however,
Fayyad´s security officers are busy arresting and intimidating any
Journalist who exposes corruption or voices criticism of the
Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. How can Fayyad argue that he is
serious about fighting corruption, and at the same time arrest a
journalist for exposing a corruption scandal in a diplomatic mission?

The Palestinian Authority government of Salam Fayyad, announcing this
week the launching of the 2012 Award for Press Freedom, invited
Palestinian journalists to submit their candidacy for the prestigious
award, the first if its kind in the Palestinian territories.

The award is intended to encourage freedom of media and speech in the
Palestinian territories, where local journalists have long been
facing a campaign of intimidation and harassment by the two
Palestinian governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Ironically, the news about the launching of the new award coincided
with the arrest of Youssef Shayeb, a Palestinian journalist from
Ramallah, on charges of "slander and defamation."

Fayyad´s security forces in the West Bank arrested Shayeb after he
published a report in a Jordanian newspaper exposing corruption in
the Palestinian diplomatic mission in France.He was first detained
for 48 hours, after which a Palestinian court extended his detention
for an additional two weeks.

The arrest of Shayeb exposes Fayyad´s double standards when it comes
to freedom of expression. In public, Fayyad is telling his people and
the rest of the world how much he cares about freedom of expression.
To back up his claim, he has gone as far as announcing an annual
award for press freedoms that would be granted to a Palestinian
journalist who is chosen by a special panel of experts.

Behind the scenes, however, Fayyad´s security officers are busy
arresting and intimidating any journalist who exposes corruption or
voices criticism of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah.

To avoid responsibility for any wrongdoing, Fayyad´s aides claim that
their boss has no real control over the Palestinian security forces
and point at President Mahmoud Abbas as the man to blame for the
clampdown on journalists.

If Fayyad has no control over the security forces, then why does his
government continue to pay salaries to tens of thousands of
Palestinian policemen and security personnel?

Moreover, what is preventing Fayyad from speaking out against the
Palestinian security forces if he is not happy with some of the
things they are doing?

How can Fayyad distance himself from the Palestinian security forces
one day and take credit for restoring law and order in the West Bank
another day?

And how can Fayyad argue that he is serious about fighting corruption
in Palestinian Authority institutions and, at the same time, arrest a
journalist for exposing a corruption scandal in a diplomatic mission?

Even if Fayyad does not have direct control over the various branches
of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank -- as he claims --
his job as prime minister does not absolve him of full
responsibility for what happens in territories that are under his
jurisdiction.

Fayyad is mistake if he thinks that he can fool Palestinian
journalists through double-talk. The arrest of the Palestinian
journalist this week by his security forces has drawn strong
condemnations from a large number of Palestinians.

A prime minister who orders his security officers to arrest a
journalist because of an article is not a "reformist." Nor is he
someone who deserves the respect of the international community for
supposedly being "liberal" and "open-minded."

Many Palestinians were pinning high hopes on Fayyad mainly because he
is not affiliated with Fatah or Hamas.

But there is a saying in the Arab world that if you live 40 days
among any people, you become part of them. Fayyad has been living
with Fatah and Hamas for too long; that is why he has begun acting
and speaking like them.